Itty bitty bytes of space for the ATARI computer PDF
Preview Itty bitty bytes of space for the ATARI computer
This book belongs to Itty Bitty Bytes of Space for the ATARI® Computer Claire Bailey Passantino Text Illustrations by Nancy Gurganus A Reston Computer Group Book Reston Publishing Company, Inc. A Prentice-Hall Company Reston, Virginia A CREATIVE PASTIMES BOOK Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Passantino, Claire Bailey. Itty bitty bytes of space for the ATARI computer. (A Creative pastimes book) "A Reston Computer Group book." Summary: Twenty programs designed to reinforce beginning computer concepts and skills, including games, contests, races, songs, riddles, and other activities. 1. Atari 400 (Computer)-Programming-Juvenile litera ture. 2. Atari 800 (Computer)-Programming-Juvenile literature. 3. Basic (Computer program language)-Juve nile literature. 4. Computer programs-Juvenile litera- ture. 5. Computer games-Juvenile literature. [1. Atari 400 (Computer)-Programming. 2. Atari 800 (Computer) Programming. 3. Basic (Computer program language) 4. Computer programs. 5. Computer games. 6. Programming (Computers) I. Title. II. Series. QA76.8.A8P37 1984 001.64'2 83-24580 ISBN 0-8359-3316-4 This book is published by Reston Publishing Company, Inc., which is not affiliated with Atari, Inc., and Atari is not responsible for the accuracy or any representation made herein. ATARI is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc. 400 and 800 are trademarks of Atari, Inc. Cover illustration by Bethann Thornburgh Cover design by Nancy Sutherland © 1984 by Claire Bailey Passantino All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any way, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author and the publisher. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Printed in the United States of America Contents Foreword, v A Note to Parents and Teachers, vii Passing the Test, 2-3 Gravity, 4-5 Test Your Spacecraft, 6-7 Take Off, 8-9 Count the Stars, 10-11 A Stellar Sight, 12-13 Music from Mother Earth, 14-15 Make Your Own Kind of Music, 16-17 What Is It?, 18-19 Who Is It?, 20-21 Hit or Miss?, 22-23 Nighty Night!, 24-25 Good Morning!, 26-27 Meteors, 28-29 How Much Fuel?, 30-31 Space Sketch, 32-33 Happy Landing!, 34-35 Final Report, 36-37 The Race for Space, 38-39 Break the Code, 40-41 Appendix, 43 iii - -. - - - - --. - - - - .- - - - Foreword This is the first of the Itty Bitty Bytes Books for the ATARI® Computer. * The programs in this book were developed on the ATARI 400/S00@) Computer. Each book in the series is designed to bring you twenty fun programs and, at the same time, teach you something about BASIC. Typing in the programs is hard work. You must be careful to number the lines exactly, spell the words correctly, and put in all the right punctuation. But you will feel extra good when your program runs smoothly! Always read the explanations next to each program. Some times there are additions or changes that you can make to improve the program. Once you see what the program is all about, feel free to experiment with it-and by all means com bine programs that work well together. The more you can do to make a program reflect your own special personality, the more you will enjoy it. Let me know if you find some nifty changes. I love to get mail! The Itty Bitty Bytes books have grown out of the teaching experiences I've had with my computer students. Special thank yous go to all my "COMPU-KIDS"-and to my own kids, too who keep presenting me with one good idea after another. They are my severest critics, but my most outstanding assets. Happy computing! Claire Bailey Passantino * ATARI is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc. 400 and 800 are trade marks of Atari, Inc. v - -. - - - - - -. - .-- - -. -- "-'" A Note to Parents and Teachers You bought the computer. You read the manuals. You did the demo pro grams. You and/or your children may even have taken some computer class es. But now the computer is just sitting there. Everyone was so enthusiastic. What happened? The novelty of a new computer will take you just so far. Beyond that point, a continuing interest in this incredible tool is directly related to its usefulness. "Not useful" equates to "not used." So the problem becomes, what can computers do that children would find useful? What kinds of things would encourage children to expend the energy needed to create their own comput er programs? Each Itty Bitty Bytes book in the Creative Pastimes series is packed with computer activities appealing to young programmers. Simple games, con tests, races, pictures, designs, songs, riddles, charts, tests, and more-all are designed to be fun while reinforcing beginning computer concepts and skills. Besides providing fun, there are fringe benefits to having children write their own programs. In working with children, I have found that computer programming encourages them to: • Think creatively. • Use logical thinking skills. • Attend to details. • Take small steps to achieve a goal. • Personalize programs. • . Develop pride and self-esteem. • Appreciate packaged software. To help children enjoy doing their own programs, here are some sug gested DOs and DON'Ts: • DO encourage children to type in their own programs. With younger children, bargain: "You type this line and I'll type the next one." (Save the long lines for yourself!) • DON'T criticize typing expertise. Speed and correct fingering are typing skills that are minimally related to computer programming. • DO allow children to make mistakes. • DO help them find the errors they've made. (This is called "debugging" the program.) • DON'T worry when you get an error message. This means you've made a mistake. Check your program for "bugs." (The ATARI Computer will give you an "ERROR" when you go over a "READY" signal. Ignore this message. The computer is trying to "READ Y" and there is no "Y" to read.) vii • DO encourage children to read and understand the program explanations. • DON'T, however, force the issue. Some people learn by reading. Others learn by doing. As skills are repeated over and over in different contexts, children may just "catch on." • DO be aware of some common pitfalls. Remember to: 1. Use line numbers. 2. Press RETURN after you type in a line. 3. Give great attention to spelling and punctuation. Quotation marks, commas, semicolons, colons, and even spaces are often important. 4. Save your program before you turn off the computer. • DO help children save their programs on tape or disk so they can use them again and again. If you have a printer, use it to make "hard" copies of each program. People like to see themselves in print. • DON'T enter commands in reversed or lower-case characters. (Reversed characters are produced by pressing ")1\." Press )1\ again to return to regular characters. Lower-case letters are produced by pressing the "CAPS/LOWR" key. To return to capital letters, press the "SHIFT" and the "CAPS/LOWR" keys simultaneously. - • DO praise children for a job well done. And enjoy the programs that they've created. • DO modify and use programs that you yourself find useful. It is my sincere hope that the Itty Bilty Bytes books will help you and your children establish a healthy working relationship with your computer. Take that computer off the shelf! And let me know how things are working out! viii
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